Have you ever listened to a politician explaining his budget plan and how much money he will save? Then you hear your political analyst or talk show host of choice tell you how those numbers were all wrong, and that the proposal will in reality only save around half as much as claimed? Most just figure the politician is lying because, after all, he is a politician. That's what they do. In reality there is a much more sinister political game being played called baseline budgeting. This insidious political tool allows the government to continue to increase spending year after year under the guise of being "fiscally responsible."
The idea of baseline budgeting really took off in Washington after the fall of Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal. When the left came to power, they needed a way to ensure that their ability to grow government continued no matter who was in office. Soon, the idea of establishing a baseline of automatic spending increases was in full swing before Americans knew what hit us. The current-day CBO baseline projects spending and revenue for the next 10 years and allows for assumed increases in each of the various government agencies. A good example of this would be if the Department of Education has a projected yearly budget increase of 15%, and the Republican controlled House proposes a 5% cut, the Democrats would scream bloody murder that the GOP hates children and they are robbing money from the education of America's future generations. The reality of the situation is that no money is being robbed from anyone, and in fact the Department of Education would still be receiving a 10% increase in their budget.
The other side of this coin is that it also allows Republicans to claim massive spending cuts, when in reality our spending increases year after year. A current real life example of this is the "Boehner Plan" proposed by Speaker of the House John Boehner as part of his deal to raise the debt ceiling. Speaker Boehner claimed his deal would cut approximately $1.1 trillion dollars from the federal budget over the next 10 years. Sadly the math just doesn't add up when you realize these cuts are made against the CBO Baseline over the next ten years which automatically increases spending by around $9 trillion dollars. In essence, even though the Speaker is claiming his plan will cut spending by $1.1 trillion over the next ten years, spending will in fact increase by $7-$8 trillion.
The latest plan to emerge from the GOP stable has been presented by Fla. Rep. Connie Mack. The "Penny Plan" as it is being called, projects that if we cut a minuscule 1% of the budget across the board, the U.S. budget would be balanced within six years. This is possible because this plan uses zero baseline budgeting so any cuts are based on current spending levels without increases built in. According to the "Penny Plan," after the budget is balanced in six years, federal spending is then capped at 18% of GDP to prevent the kind of runaway spending that got us into this mess to begin with. We know that the left would never go for this and would call out the GOP for attempting to impose a $9 trillion cut in spending, which in reality is only approximately a $38 billion cut.
These types of political games are very important to be aware of at all times, but specifically during budget debates and the current debt ceiling debate. It is important to understand that mendacious politicians use these games to keep the American people from realizing that, no matter what they tell you they are cutting, their grip on our lives grows stronger every day.
The idea of baseline budgeting really took off in Washington after the fall of Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal. When the left came to power, they needed a way to ensure that their ability to grow government continued no matter who was in office. Soon, the idea of establishing a baseline of automatic spending increases was in full swing before Americans knew what hit us. The current-day CBO baseline projects spending and revenue for the next 10 years and allows for assumed increases in each of the various government agencies. A good example of this would be if the Department of Education has a projected yearly budget increase of 15%, and the Republican controlled House proposes a 5% cut, the Democrats would scream bloody murder that the GOP hates children and they are robbing money from the education of America's future generations. The reality of the situation is that no money is being robbed from anyone, and in fact the Department of Education would still be receiving a 10% increase in their budget.
The other side of this coin is that it also allows Republicans to claim massive spending cuts, when in reality our spending increases year after year. A current real life example of this is the "Boehner Plan" proposed by Speaker of the House John Boehner as part of his deal to raise the debt ceiling. Speaker Boehner claimed his deal would cut approximately $1.1 trillion dollars from the federal budget over the next 10 years. Sadly the math just doesn't add up when you realize these cuts are made against the CBO Baseline over the next ten years which automatically increases spending by around $9 trillion dollars. In essence, even though the Speaker is claiming his plan will cut spending by $1.1 trillion over the next ten years, spending will in fact increase by $7-$8 trillion.
The latest plan to emerge from the GOP stable has been presented by Fla. Rep. Connie Mack. The "Penny Plan" as it is being called, projects that if we cut a minuscule 1% of the budget across the board, the U.S. budget would be balanced within six years. This is possible because this plan uses zero baseline budgeting so any cuts are based on current spending levels without increases built in. According to the "Penny Plan," after the budget is balanced in six years, federal spending is then capped at 18% of GDP to prevent the kind of runaway spending that got us into this mess to begin with. We know that the left would never go for this and would call out the GOP for attempting to impose a $9 trillion cut in spending, which in reality is only approximately a $38 billion cut.
These types of political games are very important to be aware of at all times, but specifically during budget debates and the current debt ceiling debate. It is important to understand that mendacious politicians use these games to keep the American people from realizing that, no matter what they tell you they are cutting, their grip on our lives grows stronger every day.
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